Money

Police target £80m London homes in ‘dirty money’ probe


UK economic crime-fighting authorities have targeted London property worth more than £80m in a second set of unexplained wealth orders, one of the newest weapons in the fight against “dirty money”.

The National Crime Agency obtained the orders, or UWOs, at the High Court last week after an investigation into how the owner of three residential properties in prime locations was able to afford them.

The NCA did not disclose the identity of the owner, except to say they are a politically exposed person — that is, a politician or state official, or someone linked to them such as a family member. Strikingly, the individual is also believed to be involved in serious crime.

UWOs, which were introduced in early 2018 under the Criminal Finances Act, can be issued when there is an obvious gap between the value of an asset (which must be worth at least £50,000) and the income of the person who appears to own it.

That might, for instance, be someone like a foreign leader who claims to have a modest state salary yet owns a range of overseas properties.

A “politically exposed person” must be a citizen of a country that is not within the European Economic Area, but a serious crime suspect can come from any country.

The first two UWOs targeted £22m worth of property belonging to Zamira Hajiyeva, the wife of an Azeri banker who was the former chair of the International Bank of Azerbaijan. One of those assets is a house in Knightsbridge, central London, that was bought for £11.5m.

In 2016, Mrs Hajiyeva’s husband Jahangir was jailed for 15 years by a court in Baku for embezzlement, abuse of office, fraud and various other charges. Mr Hajiyev denies the charges and his wife’s lawyers have branded the trial as “flagrantly unjust”. Mrs Hajiyeva is fighting extradition to Azerbaijan.

As part of the court process surrounding the UWOs against her property, it was revealed that Mrs Hajiyeva spent more than £16m in the London department store Harrods over the course of a decade.

Along with the latest UWOs, the NCA also secured interim freezing orders against the properties, so they cannot be sold, transferred or otherwise disposed of while the investigation continues.

All three properties are held by offshore companies and were purchased about a decade ago, meaning they are likely to be worth significantly more than the original £80m price.

Luxury property in London has long been attractive as a way of laundering illegally acquired money because ownership is relatively easy to disguise. A Registration of Overseas Entities Bill, intended to establish a publicly accessible register of beneficial owners of overseas entities who own or buy UK land, is due to be put before parliament this year, with the register scheduled to be ready in 2021.

Graeme Biggar, director-general of the National Economic Crime Centre — the recently formed organisation that links the NCA, the Serious Fraud Office and other bodies that combat economic crime — said: “The purchase of prime property in London is a tactic used to launder money and we will use all the powers available to us to target those who try to do this.

“A priority for the NECC is to ensure we explore every opportunity to deny assets linked to illicit finance. Our aim is to prevent misuse of the UK’s financial structures which undermines the integrity of the UK’s economy and institutions.”



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